In situations where an invalid or medical patient must spend a relatively long period of time confined to a bed, a frequent problem is the eventual development of decubitus ulcers, commonly known as bedsores. A variety of mattresses have been developed over the years to treat decubitus ulcers once they have developed. However, more recently, attention has been turned to the design of mattresses which can be adopted for use prior to the development of decubitus ulcers and which are relatively effective in retarding the development of decubitus ulcers. However, although preexisting mattresses of this type have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been satisfactory in all respects. One common problem is that they are large and structurally complex, to the point where they are typically constructed as an integral part of an entire bed.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved mattress which is effective in retarding the development of decubitus ulcers, and which is structurally simple in comparison to existing units and utilizes relatively inexpensive components.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a mattress which is effectively self-contained and is comparable in size, shape and weight to a conventional hospital mattress, and which can thus be quickly and easily substituted for a conventional mattress on a conventional hospital bed without
incurring the cost and inconvenience of replacing the entire bed.
It is a further object to provide such a mattress which will operate reliably over a relatively long lifetime with little or no maintenance.
It is a further object to provide such a mattress which is highly modular and can be quickly and easily disassembled and reassembled, so that maintenance can be carried out in a short period of time and will involve replacement only of components which are in fact defective, thereby minimizing the expense of maintenance.
It is a further object to provide such a mattress which has therein an inflatable bladder, a control unit which controls the air pressure within the bladder being physically embedded within the mattress itself.